Carol Schachet, Author at Grassroots International

Social movements in the Haitian countryside are dealing with the politicized challenge of climate change through methods that reach back to a rich agrarian tradition and weave in contemporary grassroots solutions. Deep in the Central Plateau, the Peasant Movement of...

During the tumultuous weeks surrounding the November 26th general election in Honduras, Grassroots International Board member and filmmaker, Sam Vinal, was in the country filming for the documentary BERTA SOY YO. Sam had a front-row seat as the electoral crisis unfolded and social movements mobilized in support of democracy and justice. Below is an interview with Sam after his return.

On the heels of the announcement of the election win by Honduras’ globally discredited Electoral Tribunal amidst turmoil, violence, and mounting evidence of fraud, US rights and civil society groups called on the US Congress and the State Department to halt military aid to Honduras, and not recognize the announced results until a credible, independent investigation into the election has been conducted which addresses all claims of fraud and political violence.

In the wake of the Supreme Electoral Tribunal (TSE) announcement regarding elections in Honduras, Grassroots International and other solidarity organizations in the United States have signed the following Open Letter to US Congress and State Department. The letter points out...

By: Based on an article by Nilmar Lage, Brasil de Fato
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December 13, 2017

The Landless Workers Movement (MST) has had an active presence in the Governador Valadares region and in other areas along the Doce River. They began organizing people who had been affected by the dam disaster, people who had suffered the consequences including job loss and lack of clean water.

Earlier this year, two powerful women shared their stories of struggle, community and resistance to violence, repression and injustice. The video below features their conversation with Grassroots International’s Solidarity Program Officer for Latin America, Jovanna Garcia Soto, during a standing room only event at NYU in July 2017.

On the eve of a march Saturday to call for action on climate change and mark the fifth anniversary of Hurricane Sandy, survivors of hurricanes Maria, Irma and Katrina from around the U.S. and the Caribbean gathered in a show of solidarity in New York City.

More than 50 Brazilian organizations and social movements working on issues related to the environment, human rights, workers' rights, indigenous peoples and traditional peoples and communities have filed a "Letter in defense of the historic position of Brazil on forest offsets " with the Ministry of Environment and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. It is in reaction to an attempt to enable the use of forests in offsets, a measure seen as a false solution to the challenge of climate change.

While our Palestinian partners acknowledge that UN member states are failing Gaza, and the rest of the occupied Palestinian territories, they believe people-to-people engagement and solidarity can change the status quo. Grassroots International remains committed to supporting Palestinian human rights and livelihoods, supporting our partners there and engaging in advocacy in the US.

In Palestine, the 50-year anniversary of Israeli occupation and decade of near-total blockade in Gaza is a time of looking back on difficult historical moments in which rights enjoyed in most parts of the world vanished. At the same time, it is an opportunity to look forward to a future in which they will be restored and advanced. Even though states and political parties have continually neglected such a political project, social justice movements inside and outside of Palestine are acting as its guardians.

The announcement by Donald Trump that that United States intends to ignore the non-binding Paris Climate Agreement, with the intention to renegotiate it to foist his America First policy on the rest of the world, should come as no surprise to anyone. What is surprising is who opposed the US withdrawal: Big business.

Palestinian Land Day serves both to commemorate the historical events of March 30, 1976 and to draw attention to the struggles that Palestinians still face because of Israeli aggression. After the calamitous wars of 1948 and 1967 robbed Palestinians of...